5 Forgotten single-game performances from NBA Finals history
The NBA Playoffs and the NBA Finals have given us amazing legacy performances from several superstars in the game's toughest environments and pressure situations.
However, we can be quick to define such games as more like an individual achievement and tend to possibly ignore other key performances for a team on its way to an NBA Finals appearance or NBA championship.
Kevin Durant's amazing Game 5 performance against the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference Semis with a 49-point triple-double will always be remembered as a legacy game from KD.
But Jeff Green's unbelievable shooting night will hardly be mentioned. Green had 27 points off the bench with seven made threes out of eight attempts.
Forgotten performances from an NBA Finals game in league history
In this article, we will take a look at similar situations that occurred in NBA Finals history. As opposed to Green's case in Durant's game against the Bucks, this has happened to some NBA legends in league history. It is not fair or unfair, it is just a reality.
Apart from some spectacular games that were overshadowed by another big performance, we will also take a look at big outings from NBA superstars that remain under the radar.
Without further ado, let us take a look.
#5 Draymond Green - 2016 NBA Finals, Game 7
There are many reasons why Draymond Green's performance in Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals will naturally go unnoticed. For starters, the 73-9 Golden State Warriors blew a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals (the only team to ever do such a thing).
Meanwhile, LeBron James and Kyrie Irving had iconic moments in the history of the NBA Finals in that same game.
Irving hit what eventually became the title-winning shot for Cleveland, while James recorded a triple-double in Game 7 and had arguably the most iconic block in NBA history.
After all of that, it is certainly difficult to remember Green, a player who really is not a great shooter, scoring 32 points on 6/8 from the three-point line with 15 rebounds and nine assists.
#4 Gail Goodrich - 1972 NBA Finals, Game 2
The 1971-72 LA Lakers are easily one of the greatest teams in NBA history, and that particular season was historic in many ways. The regular season was the greatest in league history until the 1995-96 campaign as the Lakers' 69-13 record stood as the NBA's best for more than two decades.
The team also recorded the longest winning streak in NBA history, with 33 straight wins.
After winning the NBA Finals, LA Lakers' Jerry West earned the first title of his legendary NBA career, while Wilt Chamberlain became the Finals MVP award winner for the only time in his career.
However, there was another Hall-of-Famer on that team in the NBA Finals: guard Gail Goodrich. In the regular season, Goodrich led the team in scoring and played in each of the LA Lakers' 82 games that year.
Goodrich's scoring continued in the NBA Playoffs as he also led the team in that area in the postseason, including the NBA Finals. Moreover, after the Knicks took Game 1 in Los Angeles, there was pressure on Bill Sharman's team.
While Wilt Chamberlain was huge with 23 points and 24 rebounds while playing the entire game, Goodrich led all scorers with 31 points and also dished out five assists. In that game, Goodrich made 14 of his 18 field goal attempts, while West struggled with six field goals in 21 attempts.